Will there ever be a unanimous GOAT?

[Lucky Colts Fan]

You can tell it's the off-season...    (LeBron chasing MJ kinda gave me the idea for this thread, because I never though anyone would ever touch MJ, yet here we are...)

 

I know everyone is probably sick of the GOAT threads by now, myself included, so I'm going to ask everyone to try to keep this completely theoretical.  We can go round and round about current and former players (we already have, ad nauseam), and nobody is going to change their current opinion.  For example:  Brady would be the obvious choice for a lot of people, but the fact that he stayed with one team/one system, and that BB has always been his HC, and that all the SBs were TEAM accomplishments will always be ammunition for his detractors (like me ).

 

I want to keep this very simple:  Will there ever be a unanimous GOAT?  My guess is NO.  There will always be detractors, no matter how much individual and team success a single player is able to achieve.

 

Secondary question:  What would it take for a player to be considered the unanimous GOAT by EVERYONE?  Especially for a player that isn't a QB?

[jvan1973]

14 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

You can tell it's the off-season...    (LeBron chasing MJ kinda gave me the idea for this thread, because I never though anyone would ever touch MJ, yet here we are...)

 

I know everyone is probably sick of the GOAT threads by now, myself included, so I'm going to ask everyone to try to keep this completely theoretical.  We can go round and round about current and former players (we already have, ad nauseam), and nobody is going to change their current opinion.  For example:  Brady would be the obvious choice for a lot of people, but the fact that he stayed with one team/one system, and that BB has always been his HC, and that all the SBs were TEAM accomplishments will always be ammunition for his detractors (like me ).

 

I want to keep this very simple:  Will there ever be a unanimous GOAT?  My guess is NO.  There will always be detractors, no matter how much individual and team success a single player is able to achieve.

 

Secondary question:  What would it take for a player to be considered the unanimous GOAT by EVERYONE?  Especially for a player that isn't a QB?

Jerry Rice

[Nobody]

Well obviously it's impossible for a true unanimous GOAT but it's possible for almost everyone to agree, like MJ in the NBA (and LeBron isn't on his level to me but that's an argument for elsewhere.) That said if Jerry Rice or LT (my two top non QB players ever) aren't even in GOAT discussions, I don't think it'll ever be a non-QB. I could see lots of people agreeing Tommy boy is the GOAT because the media says so but for various reasons he'll likely never be in the running for that to me.

 

TL;DR- kinda

[footballhero1]

One that every single person agrees upon? No. 

 

Even MJ retained holdouts who would argue Wilt or Russell. Now Lebron is making his case.

In boxing most people say Ali, but then in boxing circles you'll hear alot of people name Joe Louis or Ray Robinson as the better fighters. 

Hockey is the closest with Gretzky. But Gordie Howe gets lots of love and plenty would argue him. 

Baseball has Ruth, historians will argue Cobb. 

 

There's no clear cut GOAT. There's a defacto GOAT who the argument starts with. Like when someone says Lebron is the GOAT you kinda know they are really saying Lebron is better than Jordan and that's where the argument starts. 

 

Football's harder because I think you do have to make a distinction upon positions. QB is obviously the most important. RB, WR, LB, and CB are the most athletic. I think if you were going to say whose the GOAT RB you start with Jim Brown as the defacto guy and argue from there for Sanders or Payton. If you are going to say who is the GOAT WR you start with RICE as the defacto and go from there to talk about Moss and TO. With QB the starting point for many years was Montana, I think Brady two years ago made it close where it was either/or, and now he cemented himself as the defacto GOAT for QB's with his latest SB and you start their and argue for Montana or Manning or Marino or Rodgers or whoever. 

 

If you don't break it up by positions, you run into murky territory where now you start comparing dominance at the position vs value of the position. Jerry Rice is the best WR of all time and there is probably a greater gap between him and his peers than there is between Brady/Montana/Manning. But then QB is a far more important position and has far more of an impact on results. And then you start getting into "well Rice had Montana, then Young and he wasn't winning Super Bowl's without either". And having those guys definitly helped his stats. Being in that San Fran West Coast offense did as well. There's certainly element to it if you argue overall. So I think you just have to go by whose the GOAT at each position. If you were to do a football GOAT Mt Rushmore I think the safe bet is Brady/Rice/LT/Brown. And then you can argue everybody else after that point.

[ReMeDy]

5 hours ago, jvan1973 said:

Jerry Rice

 

Called into question because of stickum. I know other athletes use it, and we can't take away from the fact he's an incredible player and deserves his HoF status, but the stickum removes him from GOAT imo.

 

I can tell you the worst player of all time though is Tom Brady -- what kind of player lets his wife select his haircut? Yikes.

[2006Coltsbestever]

I have been in these discussions a lot and it really is subjective in all sports. It's a matter of opinion and sometimes people are just bias because they love a certain player and hate another. I think the closest thing to perfect and being a GOAT is Michael Jordan. He was 6-0 in Finals, won 5 League MVP's, 6 Finals MVP's, 10 Scoring Titles, and even won DPOY in 1988. I don't think LeBron is even close to him but that is my opinion. LeBron is great but is more on Magic Johnson's, Larry Bird's, and Kobe Bryant's level regarding floor players. Some people may even like giving the nod to Centers for GOAT, Kareem is the most accomplished, Russell won 11 Championships, and Wilt and Shaq were the most dominant in the paint. It's all opinion and as I have learned you wont change anyone's mind no matter how many facts you give supporting the player you think is the GOAT. When it comes to the NFL, I think the GOAT should be a QB because it's the most important position on the field. Brady, Montana, Unitas, and Peyton are all in that convo IMO. Brady has 5 Rings but Peyton has 5 League MVP's and 2 Rings to go with it. Arguments can be made for all 4 of those QB's for tons of different reasons. Brady's 5 Rings deserves huge praise but then again Peyton won it all with 2 different teams/different Head Coaches. Montana was 4-0 in SB's and never threw an INT in a SB.

[PrincetonTiger]

Never Will Never Should

[jvan1973]

1 hour ago, ReMeDy said:

 

Called into question because of stickum. I know other athletes use it, and we can't take away from the fact he's an incredible player and deserves his HoF status, but the stickum removes him from GOAT imo.

 

I can tell you the worst player of all time though is Tom Brady -- what kind of player lets his wife select his haircut? Yikes.

Stickem does not remove him from GOAT status.  Have you seen the legal gloves the current players use?--Jerry is the GOAT at WR.  No question

[oldunclemark]

21 hours ago, Lucky Colts Fan said:

You can tell it's the off-season...    (LeBron chasing MJ kinda gave me the idea for this thread, because I never though anyone would ever touch MJ, yet here we are...)

 

I know everyone is probably sick of the GOAT threads by now, myself included, so I'm going to ask everyone to try to keep this completely theoretical.  We can go round and round about current and former players (we already have, ad nauseam), and nobody is going to change their current opinion.  For example:  Brady would be the obvious choice for a lot of people, but the fact that he stayed with one team/one system, and that BB has always been his HC, and that all the SBs were TEAM accomplishments will always be ammunition for his detractors (like me ).

 

I want to keep this very simple:  Will there ever be a unanimous GOAT?  My guess is NO.  There will always be detractors, no matter how much individual and team success a single player is able to achieve.

 

Secondary question:  What would it take for a player to be considered the unanimous GOAT by EVERYONE?  Especially for a player that isn't a QB?

Cant happen in football because of platoons.

You can seriously argue that the best player EVER would have to be a two-way player because playing on both sides of the ball is the elite level of greatness.

 

The argument is slightly easier in basketball where players star on offense and defense (That's why, to me, Jordan is better than James, by the way).

 

To me, you cant use team accomplishments to nominate players for greatest of all time..but they can be used to break 'ties' among all time greats.

For example, Bill Russell is NOT better than Wilt Chamberlain because he won 11 titles.

No one..not even Russell would ever say (to my knowledge, he never has) that he was greater than Wilt...

No one will even have Wilt's numbers again

[2006Coltsbestever]

23 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Cant happen in football because of platoons.

You can seriously argue that the best player EVER would have to be a two-way player because playing on both sides of the ball is the elite level of greatness.

 

The argument is slightly easier in basketball where players star on offense and defense (That's why, to me, Jordan is better than James, by the way).

 

To me, you cant use team accomplishments to nominate players for greatest of all time..but they can be used to break 'ties' among all time greats.

For example, Bill Russell is NOT better than Wilt Chamberlain because he won 11 titles.

No one..not even Russell would ever say (to my knowledge, he never has) that he was greater than Wilt...

No one will even have Wilt's numbers again

That is huge point I have made on here for a long time. It's much easier to determine a GOAT in Basketball because the player plays Offense and Defense = involved in every player. In Football a QB cant play Defense or SPTeams. Some QB's can win a couple of SB's just based on their Defense and SPTeams playing outstanding during a Playoff run and all the QB has to do is not make mistakes. In Brady's early years he had several Playoff games where he was average but the Pats still won. Brady was actually bad in the 2001 SB vs the Rams and still got awarded MVP somehow LOL. Ben Roethlisberger was garbage vs the Seahawks in 2005 but the Steelers won. Trent Dilfer won a Ring because the 2000 Ravens had perhaps the greatest Defense of all-time. Hypothetically imagine if Peyton would of played on a team that had that Ravens Defense for about 5 or 6 years? He would've never lost like Bradshaw rarely did with the Steel Curtain.

[crazycolt1]

3 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

Cant happen in football because of platoons.

You can seriously argue that the best player EVER would have to be a two-way player because playing on both sides of the ball is the elite level of greatness.

 

The argument is slightly easier in basketball where players star on offense and defense (That's why, to me, Jordan is better than James, by the way).

 

To me, you cant use team accomplishments to nominate players for greatest of all time..but they can be used to break 'ties' among all time greats.

For example, Bill Russell is NOT better than Wilt Chamberlain because he won 11 titles.

No one..not even Russell would ever say (to my knowledge, he never has) that he was greater than Wilt...

No one will even have Wilt's numbers again

There has been a QB who played both sides of the ball.

Sammy Baugh not only led the league in passing he also led the league in interceptions and still holds the record with 11 in one season.

Add the fact he led the league in punting and still is 2nd all time in average punt yards per game.

Keep in mind this was before the football was streamlined for passing.

 

[oldunclemark]

10 hours ago, crazycolt1 said:

There has been a QB who played both sides of the ball.

Sammy Baugh not only led the league in passing he also led the league in interceptions and still holds the record with 11 in one season.

Add the fact he led the league in punting and still is 2nd all time in average punt yards per game.

Keep in mind this was before the football was streamlined for passing.

 

Exactly, CC....no one today qualifies for the greatest of all time because nobody plays both ways..

...there's been more than one QB play both ways..

...and lts of great players (Red Grange) never came off the field

 

GOAT (the way I see it) is greats of all time NOT greatest QB of all time

Greatest QB? Probably Otto Graham..7 titles in 10 years..never missed a game

Set a couple of records that still stand..

Top win % ever...all time leading passer in the league that became the NFL.

 

Folks don't even consider him...That's why GOAT is an impossible discussion

...

 

[aaron11]

its subjective, if we take your post literally good luck getting billions of people to all agree on anything

 

its also really tough to compare players from different eras.  lebron would have been fine in the old nba though

 

football has too much variety between positions.  how do we compare LT to brady?  i think marino may have had the most arm talent but he never won a ring

[crazycolt1]

53 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Exactly, CC....no one today qualifies for the greatest of all time because nobody plays both ways..

...there's been more than one QB play both ways..

...and lts of great players (Red Grange) never came off the field

 

GOAT (the way I see it) is greats of all time NOT greatest QB of all time

Greatest QB? Probably Otto Graham..7 titles in 10 years..never missed a game

Set a couple of records that still stand..

Top win % ever...all time leading passer in the league that became the NFL.

 

Folks don't even consider him...That's why GOAT is an impossible discussion

...

 

I totally agree the GOAT can't be named because it's all opinion.

It is sad that the old time players get no credit because the present people don't remember them playing. It's like the NFL had no history before they started watching football.

[Luck 4 president]

GOAT means greatest of ALL TIME. All time meaning past, present, and future. There will never be a unanimous GOAT because we don't know what will happen in the future. There will always be someone better to come along whether it's talent, stats, individual success, or team success. Michael Jordan was considered the GOAT, but then came Kobe and LeBron. Now people argue the game has evolved so much that Michael Jordan would be an above average player in the current NBA. 

[RockThatBlue]

Reggie White? Hes considered the GOAT at his position isn't he? Though JJ Watt has a shot to beat him out.

[AZColt11]

Nope.  Opinions are like buttholes. everybody has one and most of them stink anyways.

[Chrisaaron1023]

Nope.. time difference is too wide... just like myself with Montana. My children will grow up saying "who TF is Tom Brady?" LeBron will never pass Jordan is peoples (probably 30 years-50) mind. We should just stick to present day best player. In 10 years we'll be screaming about new GOAT's

[Valpo2004]

No for a couple reasons.

 

1. There isn't anyone who really got to see all of the possible candidates.

 

2. People have different opinions on how to rank players.  Some people look at championships as a be-all, end-all.  Other people stats.  Other people an eye test.  

 

3. The game changes, the reffing changes, and the rules change.  Enough that making a comparison is very difficult to do.  If you look at the stats from some of the best QB's from 40 years ago, most of them have stats comparable to a modern backup QB or maybe low level starter.  This is because the game has changed so much.  

 

4. By neutral measures it's also likely that the talent on the field has also gotten better.  Players are bigger, faster and stronger.  This likely also means that the game itself is faster as well.  I think it's fair to question if players from 40 years ago if they where in their prime now could even play in the NFL.  Quite frankly they might not be athletic enough.  In fact the top NFL players from 40 to 50 years ago might be average college players today in most positions.  

 

[2006Coltsbestever]

51 minutes ago, Valpo2004 said:

No for a couple reasons.

 

1. There isn't anyone who really got to see all of the possible candidates.

 

2. People have different opinions on how to rank players.  Some people look at championships as a be-all, end-all.  Other people stats.  Other people an eye test.  

 

3. The game changes, the reffing changes, and the rules change.  Enough that making a comparison is very difficult to do.  If you look at the stats from some of the best QB's from 40 years ago, most of them have stats comparable to a modern backup QB or maybe low level starter.  This is because the game has changed so much.  

 

4. By neutral measures it's also likely that the talent on the field has also gotten better.  Players are bigger, faster and stronger.  This likely also means that the game itself is faster as well.  I think it's fair to question if players from 40 years ago if they where in their prime now could even play in the NFL.  Quite frankly they might not be athletic enough.  In fact the top NFL players from 40 to 50 years ago might be average college players today in most positions.  

 

I am not so sure the players today aren't worse as a whole actually compared to the 80's and 90's. I grew up watching both the 80's and 90's and take the 1987 Lakers for example - They had a 6'9 Point Guard in Magic Johnson which nobody has today and their whole starting lineup was 6'9 or taller except for Scott who was 6'4. Kareem was 7'2. In Football, take the 1995 Dallas Cowboys for example - there still hasn't been an Offensive Line that is bigger on average, there still isn't anyone faster than Deion Sanders either. I definitely think players and teams from the 80's and 90's measure up easily with todays players and teams. Now if we are talking pre 1980's when O.Lineman weren't near as big and as a whole players weren't as fast than I see that point. I am not disagreeing with you in regards to there is real no right answer because everyone has different opinions on who the GOAT is and some people base it more on Championships, some more on Stats, etc.. Having said that what is funny about Michael Jordan is, he wins out in almost every category vs LeBron and it's not even close. Not close regarding Championships, Finals MVP's, Scoring Titles, and Jordan even won DPOY 1 year. People that argue for LeBron either didn't see Jordan play or they hate Jordan and love LeBron because I just don't see a debate regarding those 2. I have seen both live and Jordan was even more Clutch, hitting game winners in the Finals, etc.. The GOAT talk has reached new levels in the NBA as that is all they talk about on Mike and Mike and First Take when NBA talk happens. I really hope the Warriors win so I don't have to hear it anymore to be honest.

[footballhero1]

There's plenty of arguments for Lebron. Lebron never got the benefit of playing with one of the greatest coaches ever. Phil Jackson has 5 titles without Jordan. The teams Lebron played for all fell apart when he left (both the Heat and Cavs were bottomfeeders after he left town). When Jordan took his break the Bulls were still a competitive team. Jordan's Bull's never lost in the finals, they did however get bounced from the playoffs the first year he got back. So it's not like that run everybody loves to say is perfect didn't come without it's blemishes. Jordan had to wait for the Celtics and Lakers to get old before he won anything (that first Laker's team he beat was not the same as the dominant 80's squads). People give Jordan far more of a pass for getting bounced from the playoffs by Bird's Celtics than they do for Lebron getting bounced by the Pierce/Garnett/Allen trio. Jordan didn't have to play those Spurs team in a final, Jordan didn't have to play Golden State in the finals. I'll give you the Mavericks series, Lebron sucked there.

 

It's not an apples to apples comparison. It actually has more than few similarities to the Manning vs Brady debates (there are plenty of differences to). But it does depend on how much you account for circumstance. 

 

[-JJ-]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 5:57 PM, ReMeDy said:

 

Called into question because of stickum. I know other athletes use it, and we can't take away from the fact he's an incredible player and deserves his HoF status, but the stickum removes him from GOAT imo.

 

I can tell you the worst player of all time though is Tom Brady -- what kind of player lets his wife select his haircut? Yikes.

I think half his haircuts are good- the other half not so much.

 

I liked him with the long hair back in 04 or so.

[GoPats]

 

Unanimous? No, not a chance. For every Brady or Manning fan out there, there's a hater or two. 

 

Widely accepted? Possibly. 

 

Does it matter? Nope. 

 

 

[Valpo2004]

21 hours ago, 2006Coltsbestever said:

I am not so sure the players today aren't worse as a whole actually compared to the 80's and 90's. I grew up watching both the 80's and 90's and take the 1987 Lakers for example - They had a 6'9 Point Guard in Magic Johnson which nobody has today and their whole starting lineup was 6'9 or taller except for Scott who was 6'4. Kareem was 7'2. In Football, take the 1995 Dallas Cowboys for example - there still hasn't been an Offensive Line that is bigger on average, there still isn't anyone faster than Deion Sanders either. I definitely think players and teams from the 80's and 90's measure up easily with todays players and teams. Now if we are talking pre 1980's when O.Lineman weren't near as big and as a whole players weren't as fast than I see that point. I am not disagreeing with you in regards to there is real no right answer because everyone has different opinions on who the GOAT is and some people base it more on Championships, some more on Stats, etc.. Having said that what is funny about Michael Jordan is, he wins out in almost every category vs LeBron and it's not even close. Not close regarding Championships, Finals MVP's, Scoring Titles, and Jordan even won DPOY 1 year. People that argue for LeBron either didn't see Jordan play or they hate Jordan and love LeBron because I just don't see a debate regarding those 2. I have seen both live and Jordan was even more Clutch, hitting game winners in the Finals, etc.. The GOAT talk has reached new levels in the NBA as that is all they talk about on Mike and Mike and First Take when NBA talk happens. I really hope the Warriors win so I don't have to hear it anymore to be honest.

 

40 to 50 years ago was pre 1980.  

 

I'm sure the best players in the NFL in the '80's or '90's could in their prime play in the NFL today.  I'm not sure they would be as dominate but they could play.

 

If I'm looking at players from the 60's or 70's however.  Most of the players from that time where smaller and slower.  

 

The QB's had much lower passer ratings and where not asked to do as much in terms of carrying the team's offense.  Some of that had to do with rule and reffing changes but I'm not entirely convinced that is the extent of it.  My understanding is that there isn't that much rule changes and reffing changes between someone like Roger Staubach or Ken Stabler and Dan Marino.  

 

Also modern QB's run offenses which are in all likelyhood far more complex then the offenses that were ran in the '60's or '70's.  

 

I mean if you look at the best QB's from that era you see a lot of "seat of their pants" players.  Players who where considered to be at their best when the play broke down and they had to improvise.  

 

But look at the best QB's from the modern era.  Manning and Brady where famed for entirely the opposite reason.  For being able to read a defense and dial up the right play call.  They are also well known for their work ethic and watching film with an eye for details.

 

Would a modern NFL team with a complex offense be handled well by a Ken Stabler who enjoyed drinking and partying constantly and was not well known more for showing up to practice and even games hung over then for watching film?

[coltsfeva]

IMO it's like asking who is the prettiest actress, or best guitarist or drummer. Totally subjective. That's why it was irritating when Gronk made the "Hands down" comment after the SB. I'm sure in some people's eyes he right...to each his own. But they can't discount how much Coaching had to do with Brady's rings. Belicheck, Quinn and Caroll all did their parts.

[-JJ-]

26 minutes ago, coltsfeva said:

IMO it's like asking who is the prettiest actress, or best guitarist or drummer. Totally subjective. That's why it was irritating when Gronk made the "Hands down" comment after the SB. I'm sure in some people's eyes he right...to each his own. But they can't discount how much Coaching had to do with Brady's rings. Belicheck, Quinn and Caroll all did their parts.

Best guitarist Peter Townsend

 

But yeah perfect point. There are many great guitarists

[BlacknGold77]

18 hours ago, -JJ- said:

Best guitarist Peter Townsend

 

But yeah perfect point. There are many great guitarists

 

depends which type of guitarist your looking for.

 

purely on technical skill its Vai

on emotion and playing its Stevie Ray or Hendrix

 

Baseball is probably your best bet for getting close to a unanimous, but even then you gotta break it down:

 

hitter - Ted Williams

closer - Mo Rivera

outfielder - Mays

fielder - Ozzie Smith

lead off man - Ricky Henderson

 

but you still have other spots where there's realistically 10 valid answers:

 

starting pitcher:  Cy Young, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Greg Maddux, Pedro, Clemens

power hitter:  Ruth, Aaron, Bonds

 

 

[Synthetic]

11 hours ago, BlacknGold77 said:

 

depends which type of guitarist your looking for.

 

purely on technical skill its Vai

on emotion and playing its Stevie Ray or Hendrix

 

 

 

 I agree that it depends on the type of guitarist one wants. 

 

It's almost impossible to compare these guitar players cause they're all extremely different and play different stuff.

 

Vai, SRV, and Hendrix often rely on the minor and major Pentatonic scales. That's about the only thing they really have in common with playing style and technique. I've heard some people say that Hendrix flirted with the Mixolydian scale too, but I'm not really an expert on guitar theory or a lot of his playing style. 

 

Even with guitar players, I don't think you can call one the GOAT. It's hard to boil that down. It would have to come down on who is the most influential towards the various pop genres. Hendrix would win a majority...For most hard rock genres, I think it would come down to Hendrix and Peter Green (specifically, early Metal guys take after Green a lot). Every other music genre would be a toss up except for Jazz where Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery would be the main two choices. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[crazycolt1]

1 hour ago, Synthetic said:

 

 I agree that it depends on the type of guitarist one wants. 

 

It's almost impossible to compare these guitar players cause they're all extremely different and play different stuff.

 

Vai, SRV, and Hendrix often rely on the minor and major Pentatonic scales. That's about the only thing they really have in common with playing style and technique. I've heard some people say that Hendrix flirted with the Mixolydian scale too, but I'm not really an expert on guitar theory or a lot of his playing style. 

 

Even with guitar players, I don't think you can call one the GOAT. It's hard to boil that down. It would have to come down on who is the most influential towards the various pop genres. Hendrix would win a majority...For most hard rock genres, I think it would come down to Hendrix and Peter Green (specifically, early Metal guys take after Green a lot). Every other music genre would be a toss up except for Jazz where Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery would be the main two choices. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are so many great guitar players the list would be non stopping.

There are so many different styles and types of music making a list is impossible.

All you can do is list your favorite and your greatest would be nothing but your opinion.

[Gabriel Alexander Morillo]

Diego Maradona!

[chad72]

On 6/4/2017 at 0:23 PM, Gabriel Alexander Morillo said:

Diego Maradona!

 

Pele was better. 

[rockywoj]

On 5/27/2017 at 9:24 PM, Lucky Colts Fan said:

....

Secondary question:  What would it take for a player to be considered the unanimous GOAT by EVERYONE?  Especially for a player that isn't a QB?

 

Such a player would need to shatter ALL records of performance for the given position, while being a part of a team that sets the standard for wins, in particular, in the playoffs and winning SuperBowls, and doing so over a reasonably long enough career (probably ten years would be the minimum).  At the same time, said player would need to win multiple MVP awards and Outstanding Player awards, as well as being widely considered a good guy and gracious winner.

 

As an example, let's talk runningback.  He would need to average 6+ yards per carry for his career, shatter all individual season and in-game total rushing yards and rushing TD standards, be able to get the tough yards as well as being the greatest breakaway back of all-time, be a very good pass blocking RB when in passing downs, as well as ALSO setting the standard for receptions by a runningback.  

 

So in this example, over a ten year career, he'd have to rush for 20,000 yards, 200 rushing TDs, while chipping in with a position best 850 career receptions for 8,000 receiving yards and an additional 50 receiving TDs.  As well, he would have never missed a game, would win 7 League MVP awards and 6 SB MVP awards on a team with a perfect 6-0 SB record.

 

If the above were all accomplished, he could, without argument be called the GOAT until such time that somebody else came along to obliterate those accomplishments. 

[footballhero1]

3 hours ago, rockywoj said:

 

Such a player would need to shatter ALL records of performance for the given position, while being a part of a team that sets the standard for wins, in particular, in the playoffs and winning SuperBowls, and doing so over a reasonably long enough career (probably ten years would be the minimum).  At the same time, said player would need to win multiple MVP awards and Outstanding Player awards, as well as being widely considered a good guy and gracious winner.

 

As an example, let's talk runningback.  He would need to average 6+ yards per carry for his career, shatter all individual season and in-game total rushing yards and rushing TD standards, be able to get the tough yards as well as being the greatest breakaway back of all-time, be a very good pass blocking RB when in passing downs, as well as ALSO setting the standard for receptions by a runningback.  

 

So in this example, over a ten year career, he'd have to rush for 20,000 yards, 200 rushing TDs, while chipping in with a position best 850 career receptions for 8,000 receiving yards and an additional 50 receiving TDs.  As well, he would have never missed a game, would win 7 League MVP awards and 6 SB MVP awards on a team with a perfect 6-0 SB record.

 

If the above were all accomplished, he could, without argument be called the GOAT until such time that somebody else came along to obliterate those accomplishments. 

Until someone says he had it easy in this era 

[BloodyChamp]

No...Larry Allen ftw